Stumbled across this BoredPanda post about a wildlife photographer—Preeti Desai of the National Audubon Society—who stumbled across this bizarre/horrifying/wonderful creature while surveying the coastal damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Biologist Dr. Kenneth Tighe responded that Desai’s find probably is a fangtooth snake-eel, but it could also be a garden or conger eel, because “all three of these species occur off Texas and have large fang-like teeth.” The fangtooth snake-eel (also known as a “tusky” eel) is usually found in waters between 30 and 90 metres (98 and 295 feet) deep in the western Atlantic ocean, so it’s definitely not what you’d meet paddling on the surface.
Okay, biology twitter, what the heck is this?? Found on a beach in Texas City, TX. #wildlifeid pic.twitter.com/9IUuuL65qh
— Preeti Desai🌿 (@preetalina) September 6, 2017
Attribution(s): These images are the property of Preeti Desai and are embedded via her Twitter account.